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Post by Dashe on Oct 16, 2012 21:12:48 GMT -5
Alright, I'm not sure how to open this, really. I don't think it's a software error, it's probably just me being dumb. Do I put my name and the IP of the computer I'm using, or is there some other thing? I also don't know what a port is. Or how to find one. Every time I put any combination of things in, it just says connecting indefinitely. I am supposed to be opening it through client, right?
I don't think I understand what's going on.
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Post by Mikéy on Oct 16, 2012 21:52:39 GMT -5
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Post by Santa Melty on Oct 17, 2012 1:58:39 GMT -5
Right, as Mikey said. I thought the client/server thing was self-evident, but maybe not so much for everyone. Basically, there is no 1-player mode. The client needs a server to connect to in order to work, even if it's just one you yourself are running alongside it. The server does all the real lifting; the client just collects your input, and tries to display what's happening on the server as best it can. The IP the client needs is the IP of the machine the server is running on. So if you'd like to play on your own, you need to start up the server program and then tell the client to connect to your computer (127.0.0.1, usually). As for ports, I forget where I heard this explanation. But if you imagine your computer as being an apartment complex and your software as being the residents, then the ports are like the mailboxes. If you want to send data to a program running on another machine, you need to specify which port is being used by the recipient. The game uses port 777 by default, but this can be changed via command-line argument, if you feel that default settings are too mainstream. The port isn't really something you need to worry about when playing on your own. Or with others, in many cases. But if you're trying to connect to someone else and you're behind a router, you'll need to forward the port. This is basically telling your router, which is acting as a sort of middle-man, to forward any data/letters it receives on a particular port/mailbox to your computer/apartment so you can play your game/get your magazine subscriptions. |
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Post by Dashe on Oct 17, 2012 13:31:15 GMT -5
Oh. Right. Yeah, you might want to include that in the readme. The fact that server needs to be opened first, that is. It works alright now. The first time it played there were some weird graphical glitches though. The cops were squares made up of weird diagonal lines, and their bullets were invisible, and then the whole thing just crashed, but every other time I played it they looked normal and nothing crashed.
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Post by Mikéy on Oct 17, 2012 14:09:31 GMT -5
That's exactly what happened before my first crash!  MLT asked if anything specific happened before the crash, and I remember saying the cops were messed up. MLT should investigate his police force. |
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Post by Santa Melty on Oct 22, 2012 1:33:55 GMT -5
Just thought I'd mention, this game is now being hosted by the venerable Sky Pirate Arcade. This is important primarily because it means I get another internet icon.
Feel free to bask in my obvious superiority.  Working on it. Though it's probably going to need to wait until we can get a few more games together so I can test some stuff. That this glitch only happened on the first run and then went away is kind of odd. Not sure what to make of that at the moment. Might or might not be the same glitch Mikey and I were seeing before. I've got a few other minor fixes finished up already, with more in the works. But I think I'm going to save them up a bit and release them all at once in one larger update this time. I don't want to trouble Fab too much, since he has the SPA page to update now. And none of the remaining bugs appear to be game-breaking. That said, if it IS still broken for any of you, don't be afraid to say so. I may be able to put together a quick fix for you. |
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Post by Santa Melty on May 2, 2014 9:48:12 GMT -5
I had occasion to revisit some of my old code recently, and decided to polish off a few of the issues I had on the docket for Gesellschaft Defense while I was in there. Mostly issues relating to the graphics, since those were the low-hanging fruit. I also made a few modest mechanical tweaks and additions, mostly with the goal of encouraging quicker, more intense rounds. The original concept was a tower-defense sort of thing, where enemies took a set route through a series of platforms and players would be able to build obstacles to block and damage them. But in retrospect, I think the setup lends itself better to a faster-paced roguelike sort of deal, so I tried going in that direction a bit. Notable changes are as follows:
- I think a lot of the rendering issues were stemming from me trying to do simple things in too clever a way. So I'm pleased to announce that the rendering process is now significantly less clever. As a result, there should be fewer graphical issues, particularly for those on older machines.
- Generally improved the visuals. Most notably, the sprites look less cardboard now.
- The main platforms above the Gesellschaft are now randomly generated at the start of each round. There are also some new permanent platforms on the right side, to fill what was previously a lot of empty space.
- Adjusted enemy behavior. Their spawns are now more random, their stats are generally higher, and their difficulty ramps up much faster. However, they also give drops far more frequently. This will hopefully encourage faster-paced gameplay.
- Added three new weapons and six pieces of equipment, all of which drop randomly from enemies. Your current weapon and equipment are displayed in the upper right. You may only carry one weapon at a time, and you keep your weapon until you pick up a new one or until the round is lost. Different weapons launch different sorts of projectiles, and have varying upgrade potential. Upgrades transfer between weapons, but not beyond the upgrade limit for the new weapon. For example, if your current weapon has 15 power upgrades and you pick up a new weapon that can only obtain 10 power upgrades, then only 10 of your 15 power upgrades will be retained. Equipment are somewhat different; there are six of them, and you can have one of each at any given time, with each one of them granting you some sort of ability. Whenever you take damage, you lose your oldest piece of equipment, along with whatever bonus in conferred. All available weapons and equipment are listed down below.
- Added a host of exotic new bugs that even I haven't seen yet. If you come across any, do let me know.
| Weapons | Slingshot: The old standard-issue. Decently balanced stats, and upgrades well.
BB Gun: Low rate of fire and narrow spread, but has a high base damage output and fast projectile speed, making it easier to aim at a distance. Also has the highest potential for upgrades.
Spicy Curry: A short-ranged weapon with a wide spread and high rate of fire. Upgrades quickly.
Paper Airplane: Now usable as a weapon. Can't be upgraded, but starts off with a maxed-out Whimsy stat.
| Equipment
| Chef's Hat: While equipped, every enemy you defeat has a chance of dropping Delicious Curry, which heals any player who picks it up.
Wrench: While equipped, every enemy you defeat has a chance of dropping a Gear, which repairs the Gesellschaft by a small amount if picked up.
Rusty Spring: Increases your jump time.
Old Shoe: Increases your running speed.
Binoculars: Zooms the camera out, increasing your field of vision.
Riot Shield: Negates the damage from the next hit you would have taken. The Riot Shield will also be removed from your inventory instead of your oldest piece of equipment. |
I'll submit this update to SPA once I'm comfortable that there aren't any massive game-crashing bugs in there. The game should run out of the box on XP, Vista, and 7. Not sure about 8 though. If it complains about a missing or bad dll, please try installing the Visual C++ redistributable available here.
I don't expect to devote much more time to this in the future, but feedback and suggestions are appreciated as always. |
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Post by Dashe on May 2, 2014 17:55:01 GMT -5
Well, I can run it, and it looks better. It still hasn't solved the problem of me completely sucking at the game, but eh, what can you do?
I made it to the first large robot, but hadn't acquired any weapon powerups by then. Even though I was in its blind spot and on a ledge I couldn't damage it enough to keep it from killing the Gesellschaft. I'll let you know if I run into anything weird and/or get any better at this, though. It's definitely more fun and less headache-inducing than it was the first time around.
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Post by Santa Melty on May 7, 2014 6:56:25 GMT -5
It's definitely more fun and less headache-inducing than it was the first time around. Good, good. "Doesn't induce headaches" is one of those game design milestones I'd eventually like to meet, so that's nice to hear. Put together another new version based on feedback received here and on iScribble, and a lot more testing. No big new features, just bug fixes and general improvements. Lots of small stuff. To summarize: - Fixed several bugs related to the server not propagating inventory information correctly. For example, gaining and then losing shoes or springs should no longer cause your servbot to spazz out on other people's screens, the sprite change you get when equipped with spicy curry should now show up for everyone, and getting damaged more than once in the same frame while carrying multiple pieces of equipment should no longer cause your client's view of your inventory to de-sync from the server's.
- Fixed several bugs related to how positional discrepancies between the server and clients are corrected. Long story short, server upstream bandwidth should be down by a decent amount, and you shouldn't be teleporting around nearly as much after getting hit with a movement-altering projectile (i.e. a bomb). Note that if you've got 300+ ping, it will probably still suck to be you. I can only do so much. However, being you should now suck noticeably less.
- Dropped items will now bounce off of obstacles instead of simply falling into the abyss. Unfortunately, this experimental new obstacle-bouncing technology also causes the items to spontaneously combust if removed from the safety of someone's inventory for more than a few seconds.
- Fixed a couple of minor bugs in the enemy AIs and made waves with tanks slightly smaller.
- Made more miscellaneous visual improvements.
- Removed some stray debug information that made it into previous builds, made code significantly uglier, and did some other important programmer stuff.
Again, not planning on putting too much more time into this, but feedback is always welcome. This was the best solo run I did while testing this version, if you're curious. |
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Post by Santa Melty on Aug 10, 2014 17:30:36 GMT -5
Right, been a long time coming, but I've finally been able to test the latest build to my satisfaction (thanks Dashe). The current version (1.3.2) is now up on SPA, with a couple more minor bug fixes and some corrections to the readme. And with that, I suppose I'll be closing the book on this one. Thanks again for the help and feedback, everyone.  |
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